What Time Do You Fall?
by Neellok
Summary: "Eh, not bad," Ryoma said, smiling the slightest bit as she observed his newest move. It was in that moment that he realized what those three words meant coming from her mouth, "I love you."


**Title:** What Time Do You Fall?

**Pairing:** Kintaro/Ryoma

**Summary:** "Eh, not bad," Ryoma said, smiling the slightest bit as she observed his newest move. It was in that moment that he realized what those three words meant coming from her mouth, "I love you."

Ryoma scowled as she leaned against the gate in front of Seishun High School Division. She'd been waiting for Kintaro for the last half an hour and he still hadn't shown up. Ryoma took another slow sip of her grape Ponta, wondering if he would be able to make it today or if he had gotten lost again. That seemed to happen every time her best friend and crush came to Tokyo. Kintaro was a great tennis player, but lousy with directions.

"Ah, Echizen, want to get a burger with Kaidoh and I?" Momoshiro asked when they both drew near her position.

Ryoma almost laughed. Who would have thought that Momoshiro and Kaidoh would be getting along reasonably well since they transferred into high school? She remembered all of the fights that they would get into during middle school; petty little arguments that didn't matter who won. The only good thing that had come out of it was that they had become closer friends and greater tennis players. And because they considered each other rivals they knew and could imitate each other's playing style perfectly.

Ryoma shook her head, letting a smirk slip past, knowing that Momoshiro would understand what she found so amusing. "No thank you, Momo-senpai. Go ahead without me."

Momoshiro's frown burst into a wide cheesy grin. "Are you waiting for someone?" He bumped his shoulder against Ryoma's and wiggled his eyebrows. "Is it a boy?"

A light blush dusted her cheeks as she thought about Kintaro. Ryoma shoved Momo away from her, spilling the rest of her Ponta on the ground. She glared at him for losing the rest of her drink. "None of your business."

Momoshiro stumbled a few steps and accidentally stepped on Kaidoh's foot, which erupted into another argument that 'Momoshiro was an insensitive idiot who needed to pay more attention', and 'Kaidoh was a cold-hearted snake who didn't care about Ryoma's true happiness!'

Ryoma rolled her eyes, not bothering to break them up. They'd either get tired and stop fighting, or get fired up and demand a match. Either way it wasn't her problem. Momoshiro had started it.

"How long has it been?" Momoshiro asked.

Ryoma glanced at him and then away. She wasn't sure why he cared, but she knew he'd bother her until she told him. He wasn't unnecessarily pushy, but he was a bit hot-headed. If Momoshiro thought that someone was playing with her, or not doing right by her, he wouldn't hesitate to yell at the person. Ryoma sighed when she recalled Momoshiro's reaction to Horio harassing her during her first year in middle school. Ryoma hadn't understood why Horio had declared to be in 'love' with her, but it had gotten annoying when he would always appear at her matches and cheer for her. It hadn't been until Momoshiro had told him to back off that she had finally been left alone.

It had probably been Momoshiro's way of apologizing for thinking that she had been a guy for the first few days of school, though Ryoma still blamed that her dad. When her family moved back to Japan her dad proclaimed that although Japanese tennis players were better than Americans, she shouldn't be caught up in boys and that she should concentrate on her tennis. Ryoma was still too young to get married or have a boyfriend. He said that she was too good at tennis to throw it all away on a random boy, but since Ryoma wasn't that beautiful in the first place it wouldn't be a problem.

In revenge, Ryoma had chopped off her long hair a few days later and went home with a brand new boy's haircut, knowing that her dad loved her beautiful hair since it reminded him of her mother's hair. Her dad took one look at her and said that since she looked like a boy now, another boy wouldn't look twice at her. Her dad started calling her 'son' or 'brat' and Ryoma called him 'stupid old man'.

He had even taken it further and ordered Ryoma a boy's school uniform after hiding her girl's school uniform, creating so much confusion, which resulted in a call from one of her teachers wondering if Ryoma's gender had been mixed on the application. It had taken days for people to realize that she was in fact a girl, and would not be joining the men's tennis team no matter how much Ryoma wanted to, or how many times Momoshiro begged.

"Fifteen minutes," Ryoma finally said. She knew that if Kintaro could show up he would… eventually. She wasn't especially worried. "Kintaro will be here soon."

"Kintaro?" Momoshiro's surprise echoed Kaidoh's shocked expression. They glanced at each other and then back at Ryoma. "Kintaro Toyama? The red-head from the middle school national tournament?"

Why were they so shocked? She had been in contact with Kintaro ever since the national tournament three years ago. Ryoma still remembered telling her dad that she was going to support the regulars in the tournament.

"_Dad, I'm going with the men's tennis team to the national tournament." Ryoma knew that her dad could try and stop her, but she was going regardless, even if she had to sneak out of the house during the night. Ryoma held her breath as she waited for the answer, plans of escape rushing through her head. Her heart sank in her chest as the silence stretched for what seemed like hours._

"_You can go on one condition."_

"_What?" she demanded, elated and yet suspicious about the stipulation. Her stupid dad always came up with weird rules and ideas._

"_Promise me that your team will win and that it will be worth missing tennis practice."_

_Ryoma smirked. "They'll win. And I won't miss practice. They won't let me."_

—

She had watched every match Seigaku had participated in, when it hadn't interfered with her official matches. Ryoma wanted to see her team to victory, because there was no way that Seigaku would allow Rikkai Dai to win for the fourth time in a row.

Ryoma pondered the first time she had encountered Kintaro. If she had believed in a higher power she would have thought it fate. Before the semi-finals against Shitenhouji, Ryoma went to the stadium where it would take place.

—

_Ryoma looked out at the tennis court among all of the empty and dark seats and felt a brilliant fire growing in her chest. It was the tennis court where her school would be victorious—the court where her senpai-tachi's dreams would come true!_

_She pulled her cap lower on her face and shifted the tennis bag on her shoulder. Ryoma hadn't been able to play many matches against her friends in the past few days, but Ryoma had wanted to make sure that she had everything she needed if she got the chance._

"_What?" a male voice complained. _

_Ryoma glanced across the stadium to see a boy about her age with bright red hair wearing a leopard print shirt, and he had a tennis racquet over his shoulder. There were only a few teams left. Hyotei, Fudomine, Shitenhouji and Rikkai Dai. She knew everyone from Hyotei, Fudomine and Rikkai Dai due to the matches earlier in the tournament, which meant that he had to be from Shitenhouji. _

"_Why isn't anyone playing tennis? I thought that the national tournament was here," he continued, sounding completely disheartened._

_Ryoma rolled her eyes at his reaction. Had he even been at the opening ceremony? The man in charge of the opening ceremonies had announced that the stadium was only for the semi-finals and finals. It allowed for the public to gather and watch the last matches, and let the other unimportant matches take place elsewhere so they could get done faster._

"_Of course no one is here. This stadium is for the semi-finals and finals."_

"_What? The places for the finals and the other matches are different? Ah, does that mean that you are playing in the national tournament? I'm playing, too. I'm Toyama Kintaro! Nice to meet you!" _

_Ryoma stared at him blankly when the weird boy bounced up and down when he introduced himself. He reminded her a little bit of Eiji. Red hair. Bright personality. _

_Ryoma turned to leave when she heard a few more voices coming from the red-head's side of the arena. Must be his teammates. She listened as they assured the boy that they won their matches without his help. Ryoma thought she heard him say that he ran most of the way… but he had to have been joking, right? Who would run all the way from Shizuka district to Tokyo?_

"_Hey… that cap. Isn't that the guy your cousin was talking about?"_

_Ryoma didn't react to the stranger calling her a guy. She had kinda gotten used to it over the past year. If she had known that cutting her hair would have caused so many people to call her a boy, she might have second-guessed the decision. Ryoma mentally snorted. No, she wouldn't have. She still would have done it to spite her dad._

"_Hmm. You're the representatives from Osaka, Shitenhouji. Sadly you came all the way here just to be beat. Bye." Ryoma walked away, confident in her team's ability to win the entire tournament. Shitenhouji might be strong, but her team's dream was stronger. They had grown so much in the past few months and they weren't going to let anything stand in their way._

"_Hey, Koshimae! Wait!"_

_Ryoma scowled as she left the building. Who the heck was Koshimae?_

—

Kintaro still called her Koshimae. No matter how many times Ryoma had tried to correct his pronunciation. At first it had annoyed her. She didn't have a cold-hearted stare, no matter what anyone said. She just didn't like hanging around people who were annoying or weren't worth her time. Yet, even though Kintaro refused to listen she had gradually grown to accept and even like the nickname. Only Eiji had ever given her a nickname prior; son or brat didn't count! It made her feel as if she was welcome in their lives rather than tolerated.

"You still talk with Kintaro?" Momoshiro shoved his face close to hers and stared at her, as if he would be able to read her eyes.

Ryoma pushed him away again and frowned. "Yes." She forced Momoshiro to take the empty Ponta can and gathered her book bag that she had set down near her feet, hooking her tennis bag over her shoulder. "If he comes looking for me, direct him to the street courts." She bade them farewell and walked toward the street courts, not bothering to return home. She wasn't hungry, and her dad would eventually figure out where she had gone.

Ryoma knew that Momoshiro wasn't in love with her. They had never had any romantic feelings toward each other, and Ryoma knew that Momoshiro hadn't hated Kintaro. So what was his problem? She fidgeted while she waited for a street light to turn green, and then walked across the street, Ryoma's mind whirling.

—

"_What about me?" a confused voice asked. "I still have to battle Koshimae."_

_The two teams stopped what they were doing and turned to look at Kintaro, who was staring at everyone with confusion. A hesitant smile made his normally cheery countenance that much darker._

"_I'm sorry Kin-chan, but we lost."_

_Kintaro's smile wobbled. "You're lying. I still get to have a match with Koshimae."_

"_Kin-chan, stop it. Let's go home."_

_Kintaro shook his head, unwilling to let the matter go. "No, no, no! I want a match!" He spun around and dramatically pointed a finger at Ryoma. "Koshimae, let's fight!"_

_Ryoma stared at the boy who had allegedly ran half of the way to Tokyo and remembered how excited he had become when he realized that he'd met 'Koshimae'. Ryoma wasn't able to play in an official match since she was female, and it had been days since she had last played a game._

"_Echizen, it's a day before finals. If you get injured in an unnecessary match…" Oishi softly said as he walked toward Ryoma._

_Ryoma snorted. "You do realize that I can't play in the finals right?" Ryoma always thought it was both amusing and weird that her friends kept forgetting that she wasn't actually a member of their team. She may have a Seigaku jersey, and was currently wearing Momoshiro's regular jacket to keep warm, but that didn't mean Ryoma was a guy._

"_Hey, are you running away? You want to play a match with me right? Right? Let's play! Let's play!"_

"_Kin-chan, that's enough. Just wait until next year."_

_Kintaro gazed at his teammates with bewilderment. "I can't wait another year! I have to play him now!"_

"_Just give it up Kin-chan. Some things just can't be fulfilled, " Kuranosuke Shiraishi said._

"_Fine. If it's one ball, I'll play," Ryoma said. _

_She knew that the others probably just wanted to return to the hotel and take a hot bath, or eat something to regain their strength, or even just collapse into a coma for the rest of the night. But Ryoma couldn't deny the guy who wanted to play a match against her so much. She was going to enjoy this._

"_Really? Thank you!"_

_Ryoma served the ball when Kintaro entered the receiving box and jumped up and down, telling her to start the match. Shock raced through Ryoma when her Twist Serve was returned with a weird acrobatic move. What the heck was that? She raced to the back of the court and slammed the gut of the racquet into the ball, sending it flying into the other side of the court. A thrill raced through Ryoma's veins as her opponent returned the disappearing ball._

_He was good. Ryoma had been right to come here. Dropping into a slide she smacked a Drive B, and Kintaro quickly shot to the back of the court to hit the ball back. She relished the impact of the ball as it left her side of the court and smashed into the hard court over the net._

_Ryoma hadn't played a game in days. She had been grateful that she had come to cheer on her team and watch the great matches, but a part of Ryoma envied that they had made it to the nationals while her team had lost in the third round of the Kantou Tournament. She still had a few years to make her dream come true, but for her senpai… this was their last chance. How could Ryoma have stayed home?_

_Ryoma didn't want it to end. She wanted to play this one point match for as long as it could last. Satisfaction rose within her when Ryoma looked at the strong opponent in front of her. This was a worthy opponent._

_Sweat dripped from her as the match continued. No one had scored a point yet, and she wasn't sure if either of them would or even wanted to. Ryoma's legs trembled, sending her crashing to the ground. She gasped in breaths of air as quickly as she could. Ryoma could hear Oishi telling her that she was at her limit, and the captain of Shitenhouji yelling at Kintaro to stop playing, but the voices felt distant._

_Ryoma wasn't going to give up! She loved playing tennis. Tennis was her dream. She heard the voiced denials telling Kintaro to stop whatever move he was about to perform, but she ignored them. She loved tennis, and she would win._

_The smash headed toward her, and she knew that this would decide the match. She had to return this ball, or she would lose. _

_A tie. _

"_A tie? That's how it ends?" Kintaro's shoulders slumped._

"_Che." Ryoma turned and started walking off the court, but stopped when Kintaro called out to her._

"_Koshimae. Thank you for the match. It was very fun! We should play again."_

"_I'm a girl."_

_Kintaro blinked at the weird answer. "What?"_

_Ryoma smirked at his confusion. "I'm a girl, so I won't be able to play an official match next time."_

"_What?!"_

—

After the finals they had exchanged contact information, because Kintaro challenged her to another unofficial match and Ryoma had declined. Kintaro had never given up asking though, and through the years he would call her or randomly show up at her house and demand another match. Ryoma almost always accepted.

Ryoma didn't remember when it happened, but Kintaro had become her best friend. He was the first person Ryoma would call when she had a frustrating day at practice because her teammates weren't trying their best. Ryoma would also call him when she wanted to talk to someone about wanting more out of life; how she felt like she was drowning at Seigaku because the challenges weren't hard enough. If it hadn't been for the regulars Ryoma knew, she would have quit her tennis team. There weren't as many good female opponents and it frustrated and annoyed her. Why couldn't she have been born a boy?

It had been pure luck that she had met Kintaro in the first place, and that he had wanted to play a match with her. If he had known she was a girl, would he have still fought so hard to get her agreement? Ryoma knew without a doubt that Kintaro wouldn't have hesitated. Kintaro loved a challenge. It didn't matter if the opponent was female or male, he always gave his best.

Ryoma played a few matches with some of the regulars at the street courts, waiting for Kintaro to finally make an appearance. She never found out how Kintaro found his way to Tokyo, she mused. He'd just muttered something about a guy on a bike.

She smashed the ball into the other guy's court and smirked. Another win. Ryoma glanced up at the darkening sky and sighed. If Kintaro didn't show up within the next hour she'd head home. Maybe he couldn't come this month.

"Koshimae!"

Her heart leapt in her chest. "You're late, Kintaro!" She bit back the smile that wanted to burst all over her face at the sight of him panting on the edge of the court. Kintaro had made it. He hadn't forgotten.

"Sorry! Sorry! I missed the bus. And—"

"You ran the rest of the way," she finished, knowing what he was going to say next. It happened most times that he came to Tokyo. Ryoma couldn't understand how it could happen again and again, but she wouldn't complain. Kintaro had come all this way just to play a match with her. It was their seventieth match.

"Yeah." He scratched the back of his head and shuffled his feet with embarrassment. He walked a few feet forward and smiled at her. "I'm here."

Ryoma tilted her head to look up at him and wondered not for the first time when he had gotten taller than her. "Yeah. I waited for over an hour."

He gave her a pleading smile. "I know, I know, but I said I was sorry!"

Ryoma sighed. "Get in the other court."

Kintaro shouted with joy and vaulted the net, not bothering to go around. He bounced in place ready to receive her serve with a wide grin splitting his face. "One ball?"

"One ball," Ryoma agreed.

Ryoma threw the ball into the air and hit a strong Twist Serve in remembrance of their first game. Kintaro laughed and sent it back with twice as much force. Gritting her teeth at the pure power, she hit the return into the opposite side of the court. Kintaro dashed to the side and hit a drop shot.

Ryoma jolted in surprise. A drop shot? Kintaro never used a drop shot. She dashed toward the net, barely hitting the ball before it touched the ground. It flew into the air, giving Kintaro the perfect opportunity for a smash. She darted back a few steps and lowered her body's gravity by crouching. Ryoma wasn't an expert at returning smashes like Fuji, but she knew how to do it.

"Super Ultimate Dynamite Ocean Tsunami!"

Ryoma's racquet felt heavy in her hands. She tightened her grip to make sure that she didn't drop it on the ground. It felt like hitting a steel ball. How could he have gotten this much stronger in just two months? He was amazing!

Kintaro was nothing like anyone she knew. Their tennis, while not complete, didn't improve as quickly as Kintaro's. It was as if he improved his ability and skills by sheer will alone. Kintaro had improved his tennis every time she saw him. He was her rival. Someone she could always chase, but have the chance of catching up to. Kintaro's tennis inspired her to work harder and to never give up her dream.

Ryoma forced the ball from her racquet and sent it screaming into Kintaro's side of the court.

"Eh, not bad," Ryoma said, smiling the slightest bit at Kintaro's new move.

Kintaro froze. The impact of the ball hitting the court sounded loud and sharp. Ryoma gazed at her opponent, stunned. What just happened? He… missed. No, that wasn't the right word. He hadn't even tried to get the ball! What the heck? Was he just messing with her?

"Why did you miss such an easy ball?"

"You never told me," Kintaro muttered.

Ryoma could barely hear what he said, and it didn't make sense. She never told him what? What was wrong? She had only remarked on his new move. It wasn't as if she had said anything earth shattering.

"What?"

Kintaro turned to face her, eyes shadowed with some unnamed emotion. "You're in love with me."

Ryoma's heart shot to her throat. W-what? What was he talking about? Did stupid Momoshiro tell him? Wait she hadn't told Momoshiro about her feelings; there was no way Kintaro could have found out from him. Then where?

"I don—"

"Don't lie to me, Echizen."

Ryoma's protests died in her mouth. Her name. Kintaro had said her name for the first time. Not 'Koshimae'. He was completely and utterly serious. Her body trembled under the weight of his stare. He knew. Kintaro somehow finally knew that she was in love with him, and Ryoma had no idea what to say or do. Ryoma resisted the urge to run, but just barely.

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Kintaro asked, confusion filling his words.

"When? I don't even know when I fell for you. You are completely ridiculous! Our personalities don't even match. The only thin—"

Soft lips pressed into hers. Wha—he was kissing her. A bright blush bloomed on her cheeks. Kintaro was actually kissing her.

Kintaro pulled back from the kiss, also red in his cheeks. He scratched the back of his head and glanced to the right, eyes darting back and forth. "I love you, too, in case you were wondering."

A flood of hot emotions rushed through her. Kintaro loved her. After all of the months of worrying and wondering if Kintaro would ever feel the same for her, after all of the months she spent panicking that she would ruin her friendship . . . she found out that he felt the same way.

Kintaro was loud, brash, and childish. He would whine and whine until he got his way. His fashion sense was as weird and wild as his sense of humor. Kintaro loved watching old dramas, and listening to pop music. And he loved tennis just as much as she did.

"Who told you?"

Kintaro grinned and placed a delicate kiss on her cheek. "You did. A few minutes ago while playing tennis."

Ryoma's cheeks heated at the contact. "I never said that," she protested, unwilling for there to be a misunderstanding between them. She had never said 'I love you' to Kintaro, even though her heart chanted it every time she saw him.

"Yes, you did. You said it not only with your words, but more importantly, you said it with your eyes and heart."

Ryoma didn't know what day, hour, minute or second she fell in love with Kintaro Toyama. She just did.


End file.
